4-Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Cake Pops (Healthy & Gluten-Free)

April 26, 2018

Want to make something quick but at the same time healthy and beautiful for a party (or for yourself)? These vegan chocolate cake pops are the hit – they’re completely wholesome, gluten-free and the recipe asks only for 4 ingredients! And did I mention they look gorgeous and kids absolutely love them? Now you have zero excuses not to make them. 🙂

I know, I know – when it comes to desserts, it seems that it’s so much easier to buy a store-bought version. But if you’re like me, you love enjoying healthy & quick-to-make homemade sweets that are good for both your body and the planet.

By making your own vegan chocolate cake pops, you’ll skip all the excess sugar and unhealthy fats that come with a store-bought version. Plus, a homemade version is so much more delicious!

As a base for the cake pop dough, I used almonds and dates. Although you can use any other nuts, almonds + dates make one of the best flavor combinations. When it comes to health benefits, almonds are high in protein, vitamin E and minerals like manganese & magnesium which are both vital for healthy bones.

Dates are great energy-booster but they also add to your bone health just like almonds. They contain many other vitamins and minerals and are considered the healthiest sugar alternative.

In a blender add almonds and blend until the nuts are finely crushed, almost flour consistency.

Add dates and blend until you get a sticky dough that can be easily formed.

Using your hands, take approximately 1 tbsp. of dough and form a ball (to make 12 balls, each ball should be around 30g, but feel free to make smaller balls if you want to opt for more servings!). Repeat until you’ve used up all the dough.

Melt the chocolate – in a saucepan, bring about 2 cm of water to a simmer. Set a heatproof bowl with the chocolate on the top of the saucepan (make sure the chocolate doesn’t come into contact with water!). Stir chocolate occasionally as it melts.

Drip the tip of the lollypop stick into the melted chocolate and gently push it into the almond-date ball.* Then carefully drip the ball into the chocolate until it’s fully coated (use a spoon for a help!). The chocolate layer shouldn’t be too thick, otherwise, you’ll lose lots of chocolate as it will drip down from the cake pop. Sprinkle the freeze-dried berries on top of the cake pop.

Find a place where you can secure them as the cake pops firm up and dry. If you have a cake pop stand – great! But if you’re like me and don’t own one, you can use an apple (see a photo above), a glass or any other creative solution. 🙂

It’ll take about 30 minutes for cake pops to dry fully. When they’re done, take a bite and enjoy!

* You can also skip the lollypop sticks and make chocolate bite candies by dripping the balls into the chocolate, sprinkling on the berries and by placing them on a baking paper to dry!

P.S. If you want to make more easy, delicious & chocolate-y vegan sweets, check out this and this recipe!